Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sailor Goddess ❯ A Fateful Meeting ( Chapter 5 )

Sailor Goddess

A Ranma One Half Fan Fiction

By Michael A. Ivins

 

Ranma, and all of his/her friends and family are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do not own any of them, nor do I own any of the characters from Ah! My Goddess or Sailor Moon. I'm writing this for fun, not profit. I'm so poor that suing me wouldn't do you much good.

 

WARNING: This is a sequel to a previous fic I wrote called, “Nodoka's Lessons.” That was a Lemon fic. While there won't be as much emphasis on sex (it will be more implied than described) in this sequel, it will deal with subjects like incest. If these subjects offend you, stop reading.

 

Chapter 5

A Fateful Meeting

 

Two booths over from the table Ranma and Skuld had chosen a group of teenage girls were gathered. One of them was Mizuno Ami who was sitting with her friends Usagi, Rei, Minako and Makoto. She had spotted the tall and strikingly beautiful redhead with the cute black haired girl. When the two sat at a booth a short way over she noticed the odd marks on the tall woman's face. She had thought them tattoos until the younger girl said something and the older girl got a look of annoyance on her face. The yin/yang symbols disappeared from her face and for the briefest of moments a different symbol was displayed.

 

Ami suddenly sat up straighter. That symbol that just flashed, she recognized it from her recent research into the Senshi's Silver Millennium past. It was the symbol for Earth. It was the same symbol that would appear on the henshin rod that Sailor Terra would use. It was also the symbol that would appear on the forehead of the reincarnated Senshi of Earth. She wasn't so sure about why there would be yin/yang symbols on the woman's face.

 

As surreptitiously as she could, Ami opened the Mercury Computer. The computer was already on so she switched it from a passive general scan to concentrate on the girls at the nearby booth. When the results began to display she wasn't sure she believed the readings she was getting.

 

Rei noticed and whispered, “Ami, what are you doing.”

 

Ami whispered back, “See the redhead two booths over? There's something weird about her and the kid.”

 

Now alert, Rei asked, “Weird like in dangerous?”

 

With a slightly annoyed expression Ami replied, “No, weird like in strange. When they came up to the booth I could swear they had tattoos on their faces. The redhead had a yin/yang symbol on her forehead and a smaller one on each cheek.”

 

Rei's eyes widened. “Did you say forehead and cheeks?”

 

“Yeah. After they first sat down the kid said something to the redhead and the marks vanished. But for just a brief instant I saw this symbol on her forehead.” She brought the symbol up on her screen.

 

“That looks familiar. What is it?”

 

Ami explained, “It's the symbol for Sailor Terra, the Senshi of Earth.”

 

“I thought Tuxedo Kamen…”

 

“I looked it up,” replied Ami. “He's the Protector of Earth or Earth Knight, not the Senshi. Earth had a senshi who was Beryl's sister, Ruby. She was killed before Beryl made her move.”

 

Rei considered that. “Do you think this could be her, reincarnated?”

 

The Senshi of Mercury seemed unsure of herself. “I don't know. The life energy and magic readings I'm getting are off the charts, way higher than a senshi. Both of those girls have more power in each one of them than all of us combined. None of it is dark energy but they both have the strongest life energy I've ever seen and more magic than my computer can measure.”

 

Ami tapped some more keys and brought up a picture of a woman's face on the screen. Rei looked from the screen to the woman in the booth and back. They looked almost exactly the same. Inclining her head toward the computer, she asked, “Is this Ruby?”

 

“Yes. That girl looks like the Princess of Earth just like I look like the Princess of Mercury and you look like the Princess of Mars. In fact she looks like Ruby just like all of us look like our Silver Millennium selves.”

 

A thought occurred to Rei. “Did you catch an image of the marks on their faces before they disappeared?”

 

Ami nodded. “Well, on the chance of a youma attack I do leave the computer on all the time. Let me check.”

 

The rest of the group had finally turned their attention from eating their ice cream and became aware that something interesting was happening and watched intently. While this was going on Ranma and her companion had ordered a couple of giant sundaes and had just been served. Ranma had requested that hers be liberally drenched in chocolate syrup and hot fudge. They had started eating while Ami was searching her database.

 

The Senshi of Mercury finally found the images she was looking for and put up pictures of Ranma and Skuld's faces side-by side on the screen. When she turned the screen for Rei to look at she was not expecting the reaction she got.

 

“Oh my…” There was a long pause, then, “… Goddess.” Rei's tone was almost one of reverence.

 

Her friend's reaction was worrying Ami. “Rei, what's wrong?”

 

Shaking herself she finally said, “I never thought I would actually see marks like that on any real person's face. I recognize them. Well, maybe not these specific ones, but I know the type of marks. Those girls are goddesses; they have to be. It fits with your power readings.”

 

Ami took a moment to consider that. “How could a Senshi from the Silver Millennium be reincarnated as a goddess? It doesn't make sense.”

 

Rei thought for a moment. “Maybe she wasn't always a goddess. It is written that deserving mortals can ascend to godhood sometimes. It can be a reward for deeds done in life.”

 

Usagi, who had been watching and listening, stood up. “I have an idea how to find out.” She got up and walked over toward the other table. Ami said in a fierce whisper, “Usagi, what do you think you're doing?”

 

Usagi didn't answer but continued until she was at the end of the table where the two supposed goddesses were sitting. In a questioning tone she said, “Uh… Ruby?”

 

Ranma had been concentrating on the consumption of the treat in front of her, so didn't completely register what the blonde girl had said. She turned and replied, “Yes.” Suddenly realizing what the blond haired girl had said, she shook herself and said, “I'm sorry, I don't know why I responded to that. My name isn't Ruby.”

 

Actually playing things smart, the leader of the Senshi said, “I'm sorry to bother you. It's just that you look a lot like an old friend I used to know. Her name was Ruby and she had red hair like yours.”

 

Ranma smiled and said, “Wow, that's unusual. I know some people have actually called me a freak for having hair this color. Others call me a gaijin and most other people just accuses me of dying it.”

 

“So that is your natural color?”

 

Ranma nodded. “Yeah, believe it or not.”

 

Usagi executed a short bow and introduced herself, “I'm Tsukino Usagi. Over there are my friends Mizuno Ami, Kino Makoto, Hino Rei and Aino Minako.”

 

“Nice to meet you.” Ranma did a seated bow. “I'm Saotome Ranma and this my friend Skuld… Odinsdatter.”

 

Looking now, Usagi realized that the younger teen did look like a gaijin. Something else was tugging at her memory. Before she could shake that loose, Makoto suddenly was standing beside her, looking almost as if she had teleported there.

 

The tall brunette said, “Saotome Ranma is the name of one of the greatest martial artists in Nerima. Are you related to him?”

 

“Related? Uh… yeah, you could say that.” She reflected that her male side had been described as being like her brother. “Yeah. I'm pretty good at martial arts too. You could say he taught me a lot.” Again, it was not a lie but certainly misleading.

 

Uncharacteristically for her, Makoto was almost gushing, “Oh, that is so cool! I would dearly love to meet him. I'm a martial artist myself and I've dreamed of getting a chance to spar with him.”

 

“I'll tell him next time I see him.” She silently added, “in a mirror.” Out loud she said, “It may be a while before you get the chance, though. He's out of town and will be training a lot. He should be gone for several months, maybe as long as a year.” She thought it wasn't a lie because she was going to be doing a lot of training in the time she was pregnant.

 

Makoto was suitably impressed. “Wow! That is amazing dedication to the Art. It's no wonder he's the best.”

 

Not quite sure how to respond to such blatant hero worship, Ranma said, “Um… yeah.”

 

After a moment Ranma decided a change of subject would be good. She asked, “So, do you girls live around here?”

 

Usagi nodded and said, “Most of us go to Juuban High School and live in the general neighborhood. I don't remember seeing you around here before. We come to this ice cream parlor often.”

 

Ranma explained, “You probably haven't seen me because I don't get to Juuban very often. My friend here wanted some ice cream and I remembered this being one of the nicest ice cream shops I've been to, so I brought her here.”

 

Still being tactful, Usagi asked, “If you don't mind my asking, where are you from?”

 

Hmm. Don't need to give too much detail here. She said, “I live in Nerima.”

 

The stories Usagi had heard about Nerima were many. “Is it as crazy there as we've heard?”

 

Ranma snorted. “Depends on what you've heard and what you mean by crazy. Besides, with Sailor Senshi fighting monsters, youma and demons here, Juuban has its share of craziness too.”

 

Usagi winced then smiled and replied, “I guess I can't argue with that. It probably comes down to what you're used to. When we hear about the Senshi fighting monsters it just seems like more of the same to us. When we hear about some of the stuff happening in Nerima it sounds like it would make a sane person crazy and maybe make a crazy person sane. It probably seems almost normal to you.”

 

Ranma gave another snort. “I wouldn't call it normal, but you do sort of get to the point where you don't react that strongly to it. I've gotten to where I separate events into `regular' weird or `exceptionally' weird. It's hardly ever boring.”

 

While they were talking Ranma was studying the two girls in front of her, glancing often at the others in their booth. Finally unable to control her curiosity, she asked, “Have we… met before. I'm sorry that I don't remember if we did, but all of you seem familiar to me.”

 

Usagi shook her head. “I don't think so. Still, you seem like a nice person and do remind me of my friend Ruby. Maybe we could get together and hang out some time.”

 

The redhead smiled but there was a hint of sadness. “I think I'd like that, but I don't know how much free time I'm going to have. I just got… a new job and I'm going to start training for it tomorrow. It's likely to take up a lot of my time for a while.”

 

“May we call you?” Usagi asked.

 

Ranma produced a notepad and quickly jotted down her name and phone number. Usagi and Makoto looked on feeling slightly bemused by this. The outfit Ranma was wearing didn't look like it had any pockets.

 

After tearing off the sheet she'd written on, Ranma asked for the other girls' information. Usagi started rattling off names, addresses and phone numbers faster than it should have been possible to keep up with but the redhead's pen seemed to move fast enough to be a blur.

 

“Ok, thanks. I've got it.” She handed the sheet with her information to Usagi. After doing that she stood up and said, “We'd better get going. My mom is probably wondering where I am. It was nice meeting you. I'll call sometime to set up a time to get together again.”

 

In a few moments Ranma and Skuld were outside, walking down the sidewalk. Skuld commented, “They seem nice enough, but why did you want to keep in touch with them?”

 

Ranma looked over at her companion with a questioning look. “I guess you didn't scan their auras. I've had to put up with people attacking me for no apparent reason sometimes and I've gotten in the habit of scanning everyone who comes up to me like that. Those girls weren't what they appear to be.”

 

“Huh?”

 

The redhead explained, “They have unusually high levels of ki. It's not goddess level, but way higher than normal mortals. I haven't been trained on how to interpret what I can see of magic but I can guess that's what the new sense is. I could tell they have magic too. I don't know what that means, but I've got the feeling that I should take another look at them after I know a little bit more about how to understand this new sense.”

 

Skuld studied Ranma's face for a moment and asked, “There's more to it, isn't there?”

 

Ranma nodded. “I can't shake the feeling that I've met them before. It's like I should know them, and not by the names they just told me. Maybe I met them in a previous life or something. I sure can't remember them from this life and I think I'd remember someone with that weird odango and ponytail hairstyle that Usagi was wearing.”

 

The younger goddess couldn't resist a giggle. “Yeah, that style was weird. If those ponytails were much longer she'd be tripping on them.”

 

“Tripping…?” The word seemed to jog a memory.

 

“What?”

 

Ranma scratched the back of her neck. “I don't know. I just got a mental image of Usagi tripping and falling. For some reason I get the feeling she may do that a lot. I don't know where that came from. She seemed steady enough on her feet when she talked to us.”

 

Ranma seemed to think for a while longer before saying, “I get this one word that her face suggests to me, `Serenity?' Why that word comes to mind I can't say. She doesn't strike me as the most serene person I've ever met. She may even be a bit hyper.”

 

They turned into a park and Skuld told Ranma, “I'm going to have to leave you now. I've got stuff I have to do back in Heaven. I'll use the pond here. You can practice using the dirt through the grass.”

 

“Ok. Hey, thanks Skuld. It's really been fun hanging out with you.”

 

The black haired goddess smiled. “I've had fun too. We'll have to do it again some time.”

 

The younger goddess stepped onto the surface of the lake and seemed to sink into it. If anyone had been there to observe they would have seen Ranma seem to sink into the grass.

 

A few minutes earlier at the ice cream shop: The Senshi watched Ranma and Skuld leave the shop. When they were out the door Usagi said, “I know her, I'm sure of it! With that face in front of me it brought out just a little of my Silver Millennium memories. It was the memory of being notified of Ruby's death. I cried over hearing about the death of a friend.”

 

As the group of girls got up to leave a buzz of conversation broke out. It seemed that actually talking to the redhead had broken loose a torrent of past life memories in each of them. Makoto and Rei each remembered battles fought at the side of Sailor Terra, while Minako remembered attending a party that Ruby had hosted. Ami remembered sitting on the roof of the Earth Palace and having a deeply philosophical discussion with the Earth princess, all while looking at the stars.

 

This storm of memories helped Usagi make a decision. She told the others, “I am now sure she must be Sailor Terra. If we were in the middle of some great crisis it would be simple to approach her. But it has been a month we fought our last enemy and that was just a hold over from one of our earlier foes.”

 

Ami suggested, “Maybe we should ask Setsuna to scan her with the Time Gates. She should be able to confirm if she really is Sailor Terra or just someone who looks like her.”

 

Usagi nodded. “That's a good idea. When I get home I'll call the Outers' home and ask.”

 

Minako recalled a conversation held with Sailor Pluto in the past. She asked, “If this Ranma is really a goddess like Rei thinks, should we even be talking to her? Didn't Setsuna warn us to not mess with divine beings?”

 

Rei put in, “But that was before we actually met a goddess. And this is one who may be one of our own. I say we must make sure of it and if she is who we think she is, we have to tell her.”

 

Ami was listening to the conversation and thinking carefully about it. Now she said, “We need more information. That girl might be the reincarnation of Princess Ruby; she might not. She might be a goddess; she might not. Until we know more it could be dangerous to our own secret identities to approach someone who looks like Princess Ruby. Since I saw the Earth symbol on her face, I really do think she's is Sailor Terra, but I want to be sure.”

 

They all agreed. Thus it was a short while later the phone rang in the home shared by Sailors Pluto, Neptune, Uranus and Saturn. A tall blonde haired woman dressed in masculine clothing answered the phone. “Moshi, moshi. This is Haruka.”

 

The voice on the line said, “This is Usagi. Is Setsuna there?”

 

The boyish blonde answered, “Oh, hi Usagi. No, she's out doing her thing at the Gates. Was there anything I could do for you?”

 

Wanting to be careful in case someone might be listening, Usagi used a round about way of speaking. “I need for Setsuna to look into the past of a girl named Saotome Ranma. She's a tall, gorgeous red headed girl who's related to the famous martial artist in Nerima. I have reason to believe she might be one of our group and need the possible connection confirmed or denied. If I'm right there may be some Silver in her past.”

 

Recognizing the name, Haruka asked, “A girl named Saotome Ranma? There's something I need to tell you but I don't want to say it over the phone. When Michiru gets back from her grocery shopping I'll come over.” There was a pause then, “Yeah, I'll talk to you more in a little bit.” She hung up.

 

Haruka stood looking at the phone for a while, lost in thought. At that moment the call of “Tadaima” came from the door. The Senshi of Uranus rushed forward to relieve her love of one of the bags. It looked well-filled and fairly heavy.

 

After getting the groceries put away Haruka kissed Michiru on the cheek and told her, “I'm going over to Usagi's for a little bit.”

 

The aqua haired girl frowned. “Is this Senshi business?”

 

“It might be,” answered the boyish blonde. “She called just before you got here. She wants Setsuna to look into the past of a girl named Saotome Ranma for a possible Silver Millennium connection. She thinks the girl might be a Senshi herself.”

 

“Saotome?” The blue haired girl queried, “Isn't the martial artist from Nerima you were curious about? As I recall you had Pluto look into his life and found out he had a curse that made him turn into a girl when splashed with cold water.”

 

The blonde with the short hair answered, “Yeah, that's the one. Usagi said the girl she met was a gorgeous redhead so it sounds like it could be the same one. The only thing she said that would make me doubt it was she said the girl was tall. As I remember it, Saotome's girl form was on the petite side. I'm going to go talk to Usagi.”

 

“Okay. If Setsuna gets back before you do, I'll pass along Usagi's request.”

 

The blonde nodded and donned her leather jacket. In the garage she took her helmet from where it was hanging on the handle bar of her motorcycle and turned the key to start the heavily customized cycle. She patted the gas tank before pulling her gloves from the pockets of the jacket. She loved this bike. She'd put a lot of work in on it.

 

Haruka raced off toward the home of the Senshi's leader. As she went she tended to treat speed laws more like they were guidelines than actual laws. With practiced skill she wove in and out of traffic and shortly was parking in front of Usagi's home.

 

When she knocked on the door, it was answered by Usagi's mother. Haruka bowed. “Hello, Mrs. Tsukino. Is Usagi home?”

 

Mrs. Tsukino bowed back. “Oh Haruka, we weren't expecting you. She's up in her room.”

 

“I'm sorry, she must have forgotten to tell you. I was just talking to her on the phone a little while ago.”

 

“Why don't you go on up?”

 

“Thanks.” She headed up the stairs and politely rapped on her friend's door.

 

“Come in,” was called out from inside.

 

As she opened the door Haruka told her friend, “You should have told your mom I was coming.”

 

“Sorry. Now what's so urgent you had to come over and couldn't tell me about it on the phone?”

 

Haruka pulled the chair from the desk out and sat on it. “It's about that girl you want to ask about. You know how much I'm into martial arts, don't you?”

 

“How could I not know?”

 

The mannishly dressed girl nodded. “I had heard about the reputation of Saotome Ranma and got curious about him some time back. It was said that he had done some pretty amazing things. This was between crises and Setsuna didn't have anything pressing to occupy her so she took me to the Time Gates and did a scan on Saotome. She didn't look into his past lives or anything like that, but found out a lot about his current life. She didn't try to look into his future.”

 

Technically the Gates of time were not supposed to be used for that kind of thing, but Usagi knew Setsuna did use them to satisfy personal curiosity occasionally. Mostly it did no harm so she didn't say anything about it. “What did the two of you find out?”

 

Haruka remembered the things she had seen in the boy's past. Some of it was stuff that made her want to do something violent to Ranma's father. “One of the main reasons why he is so good was that he went on a ten-year training trip with his father. All of the time that wasn't spent actually traveling was devoted to training. Either his father trained him or they visited dojos, shrines, temples and other places to learn all sorts of martial arts techniques. The Art that they practice is a combination of what they feel to be the best moves of dozens of other schools. As the Saotomes practice it they have an emphasis on aerial techniques and can leap very high in the air to execute their moves.”

 

Usagi frowned and asked, “As interesting as that might be for you, how does it relate to the girl Ranma?”

 

“I'm getting to that,” Haruka insisted. “A couple of years ago their travels took them to a valley in China called Jusenkyo. In that valley there are more than a hundred pools or springs that have curses on them. When Ranma and his father were training by jumping around on bamboo poles that are in the springs each of them fell into a different spring. The father fell into the Spring of Drowned Panda and Ranma fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl.”

 

“Oh, that sounds interesting,” said Usagi. “What does the curse do?”

 

“It's a water-based curse,” the boyish blonde explained, “When splashed with cold water the cursed person turns into a version of whatever drowned in the pool. The father turns into a panda and Ranma turns into a red haired girl. Hot water turns them back to their birth forms. I think the girl you are interested in may be the same Ranma. What color were her eyes?”

 

Remembering, Usagi said, “Her eyes were the most amazing crystal blue.”

 

Haruka nodded. “That sounds like her. You said she was tall, though.”

 

Usagi nodded. “Yeah, a lot taller than me and built like a fitness model. With her face and figure she could be a model. She's even taller than Makoto, about six foot two.”

 

Haruka's eyebrows went up. “That's pretty tall. I'd be tempted to say she's someone else, but blue-eyed redheads are not all that common in Japan.”

 

Usagi bit her lower lip in thought for a moment before continuing. “There's something more to it. Ami was looking at the girl when she came into the ice cream shop where we were. She saw marks on her face that disappeared after she sat down. For just a brief moment she saw another symbol on the girl's face. She got curious and did a detailed scan with the Mercury Computer.”

 

Her own curiosity aroused, Haruka asked, “What did she find out on her scan?”

 

Usagi told her, “That girl had a huge amount of magic and life energy, way more than any Senshi. She had so much power that it didn't make any sense until Rei said she thinks the girl is a goddess. She said the marks on her face weren't tattoos but the marks gods and goddesses wear.”

 

“Goddess?”

 

Usagi nodded. “Yeah. Rei said that mortals could be raised to godhood if they are found to be deserving. If the Ranma you are talking about was blessed like that, maybe she grew taller as part of the goddess transformation.”

 

The short-haired blonde nodded. “That would fit with the overall level of weirdness in Saotome's life. On the phone you said you thought she might be one of us?”

 

The blonde with the ponytails nodded. “Yeah. That `other symbol' Ami saw, it was the symbol for Sailor Terra, the Senshi of Earth.”

 

“But I thought Tuxedo…” Haruka trailed off. The mention of the name had triggered a memory.

 

“While Ami was bored she did a little digging into our history and found out that Prince Endymion wasn't the Senshi of Earth, he was what they called the Knight or Protector of Earth. Beryl had a sister named Ruby who was the Senshi of Earth or Sailor Terra. About the time Beryl fell under Metallia's control, Ruby died under `suspicious circumstances.'”

 

“Murdered?”

 

Usagi nodded. “That's what the investigators thought in the report Ami read. Before a full investigation could be completed the whole Negaverse thing came up, so nothing was ever proven.”

 

“Hmm,” said Haruka. “That also fits in with the general weirdness of Saotome's life. Maybe he is the reincarnation of Princess Ruby. If that's true it would only by getting that girl curse that he could ever become Sailor Terra in this life.”

 

“Luna.”

 

The moon cat had been napping on the bed. At the calling of her name she woke and asked, “Yes, Usagi. What is it?”

 

“Do you remember Princess Ruby of Earth?”

 

The cat thought for a moment. “Oh. I remember the name but no details. You know how spotty my memory of that time is.”

 

“So there was a Senshi of Earth?”

 

The cat thought carefully about it. “Now that you mention it, I think so. I'm pretty sure the Queen didn't send her soul forward in time like she did for the rest of you girls.”

 

The leader of the Senshi asked, “Could she have been reincarnated as part of the normal cycle of and death and rebirth?”

 

The cat considered that for a time. “I suppose it's possible. If so she would likely have lived dozens of lives in the thousands of years since the fall of the Silver Millennium. Why do you ask?”

 

Usagi explained, “Tonight we Inners were having ice cream at this shop we go to and we met a girl who Ami says looks like Princess Ruby of Earth. She showed us Ruby's picture on her computer and it looked exactly like the girl at the ice cream shop. For just the briefest of moments Ami saw that she had the Earth symbol on her forehead.”

 

The cat seemed intrigued. “Interesting. Normally we only encountered new Senshi when there was a crisis and we were badly in need of the extra strength they would bring the team. I hope this doesn't mean there is a new crisis about to hit us.”

 

Usagi hadn't thought of this. “I hope so too. I have a thought. Could you do that flip thing you do and make a henshin rod for Sailor Terra?”

 

The cat shrugged. “I suppose I could try. I see no harm in it. If there is no reincarnated Terra alive now, nothing should happen.” She stood then did an elaborate flip. Seemingly from nowhere a brown rod appeared and landed on the bed. One end of it was capped with a gold and jewel encrusted emblem that bore the same symbol they had been talking about earlier.

 

Luna walked up to the rod and examined it. “Well, that would seem to be proof. There is now living on the earth a reincarnation of Sailor Terra. I don't know if it is that girl you spoke of. However, given the resemblance to Princess Ruby you mentioned I'd say there's a good chance of it. I'd like to meet her.”

 

Haruka spoke up. “That might be a problem.”

 

“A problem? Why?” The cat asked.

 

The short haired blonde said, “Early on during the ten-year training trip Ranma was put through training for a technique called the cat-fist. I won't go into detail but involves having fish sausages tied to you and being thrown into a pit full of starving cats.”

 

“What?” The others in the room were appalled at the torture just described.

 

The moon cat demanded, “Who would do something like that to her?”

 

Haruka's expression was grim. “His father. He thought it would turn the child into an invincible warrior. He was only six years old at the time. The result is a cat phobia. When he is around a lot of cats he goes temporarily insane and starts acting like a cat with claws of ki that can shred anything, even metal.”

 

The cat sighed. “Perhaps it would be better if I don't meet her after all. Why did you call this girl `him?'”

 

“I told Usagi about it,” Haruka answered. “Setsuna and I watched details of his past in the Gates of time. Saotome Ranma has a sex-changing curse. Depending if splashed with hot or cold water he can change from male to female and back. He was born a boy.”

 

In a bemused tone the moon cat said, “Cat-fist training, a water-activated sex-changing curse and a reincarnated Senshi of Earth. It sounds like this Ranma's life is complicated.”

 

Usagi put in, “You don't know the half of it. From some marks that Ami saw on Ranma's face, Rei thinks she has been changed into a goddess.”

 

The cat looked again at the henshin rod. “If that is the case then perhaps it would be better if you had nothing more to do with this Ranma person.”

 

Usagi demanded, “What are you talking about? If she's a senshi she should be told about her heritage.”

 

The cat shook her head. “Setsuna has warned us that getting involved in the affairs of divinities can be very dangerous. They often have their own agenda and possess powers that dwarf the Senshi.”

 

Usagi pleaded, “Would it hurt if Pluto looks into Ranma's past to try and confirm the connection to Sailor Terra?”

 

Luna replied, “I don't know. The Time Gates can't lock onto deities to track them. Setsuna has told me about this before. I don't think she's ever tried to use the Time Gates to search the past of a mortal who was transformed into a deity.”

 

Haruka thoughtfully said, “It should work. Setsuna has already looked into Ranma's past. From what you've said she should be able to see it up to the point where she became a goddess.”

 

The boyish woman stood up and said, “I'm going to head home. Hopefully Setsuna will be back by the time I get there.”

 

She left and rode her motorcycle home.

 

At the home of the Outers Michiru was practicing her violin when Hotaru came up to her. “Michiru Mama, where did Haruka Papa go?”

 

The aqua haired woman smiled at her adopted daughter. “She went to visit with Usagi. She had some Senshi business to talk to her about.”

 

“Oh. Well, it's getting late. I'm going to bed now. Tell her I love her.”

 

The aqua tressed woman smiled wider. “I'm sure she knows, but I'll tell her anyway.”

 

Not long after the Senshi of Saturn went to her bedroom the green haired Setsuna appeared. Being somewhat accustomed to the Senshi of Time's sudden appearances, Michiru only started a little. The green haired woman looked tired and somewhat agitated.

 

The blue haired woman asked, “Is something wrong?”

 

“Maybe. I'm not sure and that's the problem. There was a major change in the time line yesterday but I can't pinpoint it. It looks like it could threaten the future of Crystal Tokyo.” She looked around then asked, “Where's Haruka?”

 

“We got a phone call from Usagi. It seems she and the Inners were at an ice cream shop today and met a red haired girl who called herself Saotome Ranma. Haruka thinks it might be the same person as that martial artist you researched for her that one time. She went over to Usagi's house to talk to her about it.”

 

The green haired woman looked puzzled. “Saotome? Oh yes, I remember. Haruka was indulging in a little hero worship, as I recall. What we found out was a bit more than she bargained for.”

 

Michiru nodded. “She told me about it. That father of his should never have been allowed to raise a child. It's a wonder Ranma turned out to be the good person he did.”

 

Further conversation was cut off by the sound of a motorcycle engine. They heard the vehicle pull into the garage then with a final rev of engine it fell silent. Moments later Haruka came in from the garage. She paused to hang her leather jacket in the closet.

 

The blonde spotted the Senshi of Time and said, “Setsuna, it's good you're here. I'm sorry to ask you this after you just got back from the Gates, but something has come up that you may want to check into.”

 

“Oh?”

 

The Senshi of Uranus said, “This may take a while, let's go sit down.”

 

They moved to the living room and Haruka proceeded to tell of the phone call and the conversation at Usagi's house.

 

When Haruka finished Setsuna said in a musing tone. “Princess Ruby of Earth - Sailor Terra. Those are names I haven't thought of in centuries. It seems perfectly in keeping with the overall chaotic theme of Saotome's life if he really was the reincarnation of the Earth Princess. The same applies to him becoming a goddess. I wonder…” She trailed off.

 

“What?” Michiru asked.

 

“Haruka was right. I do want to check into this. Excuse me.” She vanished.

 

The boyish blonde groused, “I didn't expect her to pop right out like that.”

 

The two Outers stayed in their seats and chatted about inconsequential things for a while. It was fortunate that they stayed put because after fifteen minutes Setsuna teleported back. She seemed agitated.

 

“What did you find out?” Michiru asked.

 

Frowning, Setsuna answered, “Saotome's life remains as chaotic as ever. Over the last several months he was exposed to sex magic and is having an affair with his mother. He even got her pregnant. He married one of his fiancés and got her pregnant. Now he's stuck as a woman and is pregnant herself with her male side the father.”

 

“How…?”

 

“Artificial insemination,” Setsuna supplied. “It was an accident and not what she intended. She has a sorceress who is a cousin who modified her curse so her female side was as tall as her male form. She can now change genders at will instead of the curse being activated by water. Her father's curse was changed so he changed into a woman instead of a Panda. The female father is now pregnant herself and stuck as a woman.”

 

The other's just said, “Oh.”

 

“I was able to confirm that that Saotome is the reincarnation of Sailor Terra. If he'd never got the girl curse he'd never be able to touch the power of the Senshi transformation. As it is I don't know. Yesterday evening a goddess came to grant Saotome a Wish.”

 

“A wish?”

 

Setsuna shook her head with an expression of frustration on her face. “At the point where the goddess showed up it became nearly impossible to see anything with the Time Gates. I had to focus on Saotome's mother and wife (or maybe I should call them both his wives.) From monitoring their conversations I was able to confirm Ranma was tricked into wishing to become both a god and a goddess. She won't be using the male form until after her babies are born. She's going to have twins.”

 

“Tricked?”

 

Setsuna nodded. “It seems Kami-Sama wanted Saotome to be a deity and didn't want the boy to have a chance to refuse. I found that the timing of the transformation of Saotome into a deity coincides exactly with the shift in the timeline. The future of Crystal Tokyo is changed. It may not happen at all or may take much longer come about.”

 

“What can we do?”

 

Setsuna bowed her head and massaged her temples as if nursing a headache. “If we attacked her how before she gets trained in her new powers we might have a chance to kill her. Then again, it's more likely we'd get our butts handed to us. Saotome's martial arts skills and ki manipulation abilities combined with the enhancement of the goddess transformation would likely be enough to deal with all the Senshi both Inners and Outers. Once she gets trained in her new powers, we wouldn't be able to touch her at all. If we had found out about her before the Inners had met her we might have talked them into attacking her, but I don't think that would work now.”

 

She continued, “I ran a simulation to see what would happen if we tried to get to her through her wives, but that was a disaster that ended up with most of the Senshi dying and only Moon surviving.”

 

Michiru suggested, “Maybe we should try to get her on our side.”

 

Haruka looked thoughtful. “If she could transform into Sailor Terra, would that power her down from goddess to just a Senshi or would it add Senshi powers to her goddess powers?”

 

Setsuna stopped as if struck. “What did you just say?”

 

“Huh? I was just wondering if it would be a power up or power down for Saotome to transform to Sailor Terra now that she's a goddess.”

 

The green haired woman thought with great concentration. Finally she said, “Nothing like this has ever come up before. I don't know if the Senshi transformation would even work when she's a goddess. If it did work, I don't know if it would add to or subtract from her current powers. I think it's something we need to find out.”

 

Haruka offered, “Usagi has a henshin rod for Sailor Terra. She asked Luna for it.”

 

Setsuna said thoughtfully, “I think we need to be sure that Saotome gets the rod and we need to be there when she uses it for the first time. If it does take her power level down to that of a Senshi, we would have a chance to take her out. We should be ready to attack. If the transformation adds to her power then the only option open to us is to try to win her over and get her support for the establishment of Crystal Tokyo.”

 

Trying to stay practical, Haruka asked, “How will you know if she does get powered down?”

 

The green haired woman replied, “I can remotely monitor the Gates. If they can lock onto her after her Senshi transformation then I'll know. If the Gates still can't read her then it means she a Senshi Goddess and basically untouchable by any powers we can muster.”

 

Haruka started to ask, “What about Saturn's power to destroy…?”

 

Setsuna interrupted, “Any power we can muster.”

 

Michiru tried again. “If she's that strong, maybe we should just try to make friends with her. It sounds like she's someone who would be better to have with us than against us.”

 

Setsuna gave blue haired girl a pitying look. It was obvious that the Senshi of Neptune didn't understand the magnitude of the issues involved. The future of Crystal Tokyo was at stake.

 

Rather than delivering a scathing reply, Setsuna stood up and said, “I'm going to bed. Good night.”

 

Haruka watched the green haired woman go and said quietly to her lover, “I don't know about this. I get the strong feeling that she's building too much of a case out of too little evidence. She admitted she can't see Saotome in the Gates now so she can't be sure it was Ranma who was responsible for the change in the time line. Normally I trust her instincts, but this time it just feels wrong.”

 

Michiru stood up and said, “I know what you mean. Come on, let's get to bed.” They went to the bedroom they shared.

 

 

Author's Note: So, Ranma has someone else who wants to kill her. It would seem that becoming a god/dess has not made her immune to chaos attraction